After a February fire destroyed Southwind Animal Clinic, Dr. Corry Key has reopened her practice at a new location.

The new facility, located at 715 N. El Paso Ave., is a work in progress. In a building that recently housed a church, Corry Key and her husband, Justin Key, are trying to rebuild the business that is their livelihood.

The practice was shut down almost entirely for 10 days before the Keys were able to reopen at the current location. During that time, Justin Key said they did some house calls and met with clients in town to fill prescriptions for their pets.

“We were selling drugs in the parking lot,” Justin Key joked. “We were down without a building that people could come into for about 10 days. We still had the ability to go to people’s houses, which we did, and we had to go, like I said, fill prescriptions out in the parking lot.”

Now, they have a permanent location again. Justin Key pointed out a variety of construction projects that need to be completed at the new facility, from floors to building walls to cutting a door frame out of a concrete wall. Some work has begun already, but he said the largest part has to wait until the insurance claim from the fire damage has been processed, which is in the final stages.

The new facility will also lend itself to adding some features the clinic didn’t have at the previous site. One exam room will have direct outside access, which can allow owners to bring severely injured animals into the clinic without having to go through the waiting area. There will also be a plexiglass cat area, with individual units that can be closed off or opened up to a common area that can be used by cats that are comfortable with each other.

In the meantime, the Keys at least have an operational veterinary practice.

“The only thing we can’t do is X-rays because until we get the insurance money we can’t buy the X-ray machine,” Corry Key said.

Almost all of her equipment will have to be replaced, though some salvaged materials are functioning for now.

“Some of the stainless steel is salvageable, like the tables and stuff like that, but they’re not right,” Justin Key said. “It gets embedded with that acid — you can use it, it’s functional. Yeah, we can use it temporarily until we can go out and get new.”

The Feb. 25 blaze was started by a faulty light in the rear portion of the facility and left the East Main Street building unusable.

Corry Key said she has been able to keep her entire staff with no layoffs and was even able to pay them during the time the clinic was not operating, thanks in part to a generous donation from a client.

Other clients have rallied to Southwind’s aid as well. One client is hosting an April 13 benefit for the clinic at Bona Dea Trails from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be giveaways for gift certificates and gift baskets donated by various local veterinarians and businesses.